Latest Area News Headlines

WORTHINGTON – Minnesota Sen. Bill Weber and Reps. Rod Hamilton and Joe Schomacker sat down Friday morning with constituents during a legislative breakfast to talk about the Legislative Session so far and what is yet to come after the Easter break.
Rather than have each legislator give a speech or report, attendees were encouraged to ask questions and make comments.

One of the subjects discussed was the passing of the minimum wage bill, which will raise the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2016. According to Sen. Weber, the only added provision that would exempt employees from the law...

LAKEFIELD - The Lakefield Fire Department’s annual open house, dance and raffle will take place Saturday, April 26. The open house runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the fire hall. The dance begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Lakefield VFW.

Firefighters will serve up a meal of pork burgers, chips, beans and all the fixings starting at 11 at the fire hall. Rides in a Lakefield fire truck will be provided to children, with all of the department’s firefighting equipment will be on display outside the fire hall as well. General raffle tickets available at the dance, special raffle tickets are...

WORTHINGTON – Charges were filed earlier this week against a woman accused of selling drugs to confidential informants on two occasions last year. Desirae Ann Hotovec, age 26, is charged with three counts of third-degree controlled substance sale in Nobles County District Court.

According to the criminal complaint, Hotovec allegedly sold Oxycodone and a small amount of methamphetamine to a CI, making the exchange at a residence in Worthington on February of 2013. In July of 2013, she allegedly met another CI at Bibles For Missions and completed the sale of 2 grams of meth.

WORTHINGTON – With dry conditions and wind, fire departments in the area were kept busy Tuesday in southwest Minnesota. The Worthington Fire Department responded to two fires on opposite ends of a city block.

The first call came in at 10:32 a.m. to 617 Omaha Avenue. Neighbors noticed a shed on the property was on fire, which Worthington Fire Chief Rick von Holdt suspects was started by a heat lamp.

A second fire was reported at 6 p.m. at 1609 Okabena Avenue, and involved a garage and house. American Red Cross volunteers responded to the fire, which left a family of four...

WORTHINGTON – Long-awaited contact from the owner of Northland Mall seems to indicate Mike Kohen is willing to demolish the old K-mart section of the building and start addressing issues in the rest of the facility. Kohen said he plans to have a representative with his demolition company meet with the city soon, and will also begin fixing the roof one section at a time until it is repaired.

City leaders seem skeptical, but have tabled any discussion about moving forward with court procedures until Kohen’s claims can be investigated. The city has asked for names and contact...

The Windom Police Department is asking parents to remind their kids to never accept rides from strangers following an incident Sunday evening.

According to authorities, an investigation is underway after an 8-year-old girl was allegedly approached by an unknown male at approximately 7:38 p.m. Sunday.

The male spoke with the girl along the roadway near Winfair School and told the girl that he was asked by her mother to pick her up. The child refused the ride with the suspicious male, and the parents confirmed that they had not sent anyone to pick her up.

ADRIAN - – Interstate 90 motorists in southwestern Minnesota are advised of day-time lane closures this week as crews build crossovers for bridge work in the area of Adrian and Jackson this summer. Later in April traffic will be reduced to two lanes, two-way with reduced speeds until mid-September.

The project includes work on four bridges at Adrian and four more at Jackson. Crews will repair decks, rails, approach panels, drainage and paint the steel to keep them in good condition and improve the ride for the motorists. Guardrail improvements will also be made.

ADRIAN – A state fire marshal was on the scene Thursday night in rural Adrian after a 10-year-old girl’s body was found dead among round bales that had been burning. According to Nobles County Sheriff Kent Wilkening, while Adrian firefighters were battling a blaze among round hay bales at 25773 Ahlers Avenue, Perri Heideman had been reported missing.

“They did a search of the farm place and turned up nothing,” Wilkening said. “Once the fire was put out by the department, they started tearing apart bales to search further and stop flare-ups, and they found her.”

WORTHINGTON – Tina Smith, candidate for Lt. Gov for Mark Dayton, stopped in Worthington Thursday to visit with constituents and tout Dayton’s cause, talking with other Democrats about health care, infrastructure, roads and water. Smith, who is currently Dayton’s Chief of Staff, said she and her family moved to Minnesota 30 years ago, where she worked for General Mills before becoming involved in politics.

She told the group of 20 or so people she was pleased to be out campaigning while the governor was stuck back at the State Capitol.

Farm 40 on Us winner Jim Schettler of Wilmont, pictured here with Radio Works General Manager/Owner Chad Cummings, Trent Palm of Winfield/Croplan, Denny Weber of New Vision and Jim Resch of Winfield/Croplan. Schettler won everything he needs to farm 40 acres of soybeans.